


Shifts

by DearCat



Series: Uraichi week 2019 [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Feral Behavior, UraIchi Week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-03-09 04:59:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18910057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DearCat/pseuds/DearCat
Summary: What if Ichigo had accepted his hollow from the beginning?





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy!

It all changes with a night-long talk at Orihime’s place. Ichigo has been far too independent since his mother’s death, convinced as he is that relying on others is a weakness he can’t allow himself. That he can’t afford. He doesn’t realize that keeping everything to himself when his friends are right along for the ride is both condescending and dangerous. In his mind, he’s only trying to protect them.

And his friends, who see his strength and feel dwarfed by it, feel they owe him way too much for his protection to demand answers he’s obviously unwilling to give. But Orihime, who is usually far softer around the edges, has not been able to sleep well for three nights straight, the coffee no longer helping. Her neighbours recently brought their newborn home from the hospital and the babe cries all night long. No amount of positive attitude has helped her to find some rest.

So it comes to a head one evening as they prepare to separate, each to his/her own place. Uryuu, in an uncharacteristic show of public worry, turns to Ichigo and asks: “Are you alright, Kurosaki?”

Orihime already knows the answer before the substitute soul reaper even opens his mouth.

“I’m fine.” He tells them, with that bullshit little smile on his face.

Something in Orihime snaps. “No! You’re not!” She exclaims, frustration getting the better of her. They all turn to look at her with various expressions of surprise and Orihime feels herself reddening but the comment is already out and, unexpectedly, she doesn’t want to take it back. So she squares her shoulders and continues when she notices no one else will say a thing. “You are not. And I’m tired of having to pretend to believe you every time you lie to us. We’re in this together, aren’t we?”

Ichigo blinks, taken aback. “You’re right, Orihime. I’m sorry.”

The ensuing conversation at Orihime’s is both emotionally charged and tiring; filled with screams and murmurs, tears and laughter. But it’s long overdue. They end up moving to Chad’s place for some blessed sleep, the baby still crying loudly on the apartment beside hers.

It means that once Ichigo starts realizing that something is wrong with him when he begins to suspect that it has something to do with the hollow mask he can’t seem to get rid of, he comes to them. They all worry, of course, and none of them have the right answer but there are plans made regardless and it makes Ichigo feel a little better. They try to figure it out for themselves and when that doesn’t work, they go to Urahara.

By that point, Ichigo already has been approached by Hirako. The man didn’t leave a good first impression. Not with the condescending attitude and the “you don’t belong with them” speech. The whole group takes offence. They have worked hard to prove to each other that they belong together, after all, that they’re both friends and a team. That they can handle whatever comes if they work together.

It still serves to confirm their suspicions. It means they know where to start their questions when they go to the shopkeeper. The blonde, however, only insists that Ichigo should go to Hirako so the man can teach him how to control his inner hollow. That it’s the only way.

Surprisingly, it’s Kon who disagrees when all of them have resigned themselves to the situation. “I don’t think that’s the right choice.” When they all turn to look at him, he elaborates. “It’s a part of you, isn’t it? This hollow? Is it really a good idea to push it down and hope for the best?”

They can see in Ichigo’s face that he does believe that. But Orihime is actually thinking it through. “Well, Kon has a point. I mean, if you’re aggressive, you learn martial arts. Don’t you?”

Uryu nods along with her. “For the discipline. Yes. It would make more sense for you to learn to cope with it than to push it down.”

Especially since it seems to be a permanent condition. Not that any of them say that out loud.

In the end, they do it their way.

There’s a lot of aggression that comes with an inner hollow and Ichigo learns to mope until he can get inside of one of Orihime’s barriers to cause some wilful destruction. But it’s not abating at all, not calming down and they’re close to giving up and going to Hirako after all when they have a breakthrough.

Orihime is watching Ichigo as he has another rampage inside one of her barriers, Uryu by her side when she suddenly voices the question that has been on her mind for a while. “Where is all this anger coming from?”

Uryu doesn’t turn his gaze from their friend. “Hollows have lost their heart, that’s where their pain, anger and other negative things come from.”

Orihime nods at the explanation, she has heard it before. “Yes, but Kurosaki-kun is still alive. He still has his heart.”

Uryu turns to look at her in surprise and then at Ichigo who is finally calming down.

It sparks a new approach.

It takes a little while until they can convince Urahara but finally they do. He agrees as long as they accept to take one of the vizards with them. The idea of taking a babysitter along chafes but they also understand where it’s coming from so they don’t complain. It’s not Hirako who comes with them, it’s a man named Ushoda Hachigen. Normally referred to as Hachi.

Going to Hueco Mundo is a risk, they all know it and it shows in how tense all of them are. Not only has Aizen set up shop in Las Noches but they’re also doing this behind the back of Soul Society. So many things can go wrong but this is really their last idea. If this doesn’t work out, they will have to ask for Hirako’s help. No matter how unsure they are at the man’s methods.

Hachi is kind and polite. It doesn’t take long for him to establish rapport with Orihime who finds the well of knowledge the man possess to be both fascinating and entirely too useful. Her Shun Shun Rikka is not entirely similar but still similar enough that learning what she can from Hachi seems common sense. The vizard, for his part, seems to have no problem in answering her questions.

It’s still particularly obvious that Hachi expects them to fail. It’s clear in his soothing words that try to console them that there’s nothing wrong with them having at least tried. Clearer still in the way he’s trying to softly nudge them towards Hirako with smooth reassurances.

It grates on their nerves a little but Orihime soon manages to have him mostly concentrated on her and her questions so mostly they let it go. Even as they keep an eye on Ichigo and the way his shoulders seem to get closer to his ears for every subtle pitying look from the older Vizard.

They arrive as far away from Las Noches as Urahara can manage and something in Ichigo responds to it. He perks up as soon as he steps a foot over the sand of the vast desert. There’s almost a skip in his step as he walks. Not once does he turn back to look at them, assured that wherever he goes, they will follow.

It soothes something inside them none of them had known needed to be soothed.

Their time in Hueco Mundo is both exactly what they were hoping and expecting it would be and nothing like they have imagined. It’s a mix between bewildering and utter relief. It has taken them longer than they would have liked and the answer is not as easily accessible as they’d hoped. But they have an answer now and it makes all the difference.

It starts with Ichigo wandering around in search for something he can’t seem to explain to them when they ask. Only telling them he’ll know once he finds the perfect one. The perfect one, it turns out, ends up being an unoccupied tunnel. It's big enough to comfortably fit the lot of them.  

Ichigo’s eyes go a luminescent yellow pupil on black sclera as he eyes them with the possessive and considering glint they have long since gotten used to. They can still see the way that Hachi tenses up, disturbed both by the image and the easy acceptance of the Karakura gang.

They ignore the way he barely manages to stop his lunge as Ichigo comes to them, the way the man’s body seems to vibrate with tension as Hachi watches Ichigo rub his cheek to each of their own with that low hum that could be a purr but isn’t. Ichigo ignores him mostly, except for some disdainful glances.

The young vizard tolerates his elder with only some grumbling. He seems to fret at the entrance of the tunnel, eyes going from the pink-haired man to them and then back to the sands of Hueco Mundo with something like longing. It goes on until they manage to convince him they will be safe, Hachi erecting a barrier between them and him with wonder in his expression.

Ichigo doesn’t return for days. It takes its toll in all of them. Orihime freets, Uryu rants and Chad’s silence somehow become violent. Hachi looks at them from his side of the barrier, not bothering to interject after one too many snaps at his commentary. They know, of course, that he’s well-meaning but some of it just comes across as condescending in their stressed out minds.

He comes back on the third day. Dirty and a little scrapped but otherwise healthy and happy, this is the first time that the outcome hasn’t been exhaustion and barely repressed frustration so this is a decisive win from their standpoint. He’s still very much largely non-verbal but that is common even from before so they’re used to deciphering his meaning from body-language, experience and his various grunts, growls and purrs.

What is new is the somewhat bloody furs he throws at their feet and the expectant look on his face that turns into a pout when they fail to give him the reaction he’s waiting for. They watch him in silence as he arranges it in the same kind of nest he’s done countless times before. Except that this time he uses fur from hollows he seems to have hunted instead of the blankets and pillows they have been accumulating since their attempts at learning how to cope with this situation.

This time they know what to do when Ichigo steps back from his newly made nest and looks at them, hopeful. They can’t completely hide their reluctance in lounging in this one, though. As inviting as the furs look, the way they're matted with both fresh and dried blood is off-putting. Ichigo notices and sulks. Only perking up when they resign themselves to their fate and coax Ichigo with them.

They end up piling one over the other, the same way they have been doing from the beginning of this ordeal. Ichigo over Chad, his back to the half-Mexican’s chest with Uryu resting by their side. The Quincy's head resting over Ichigo’s heart and Orihime nestled a little under him, with her head on Ichigo’s stomach and her legs interlaced with Uryu. Ichigo purrs, deep in his throat. They all ignore the considering look on Hachi’s eyes as he looks at them.

Next time they make their trip to Hueco Mundo, it’s Hirako who comes with them. Silent and considering.

* * *

 

The somewhat constant trips to Hueco Mundo, dangerous as they are, manage to keep Ichigo content. They have the positive side effect of making him more comfortable with his hollow side, both with his instincts and his powers. It improves his chances of survival in the incoming war. It also means that the hollow side of Ichigo starts bleeding into the way he thinks and behaves regularly.

He becomes far more tactile, there are casual touches, affectionate touches, possessive touches. He learns to love the feeling of the sun on his skin, takes every opportunity to drag any or all of them to lounge in all patches of the sun he finds. In the lazy and self-assured manner of any predator. He uses them as pillows or blankets, purring all the way.

He growls when he’s annoyed or displeased. He growls when they move and he dislikes the way they dislodge him as he’s sprawled over them, he growls when Keigo irritates him with his antics. There are playful growls too. For those days when Ichigo is feeling sadistically playful. He swipes Urahara’s hat and lays on top of it, refuses to move when the man pouts and threatens. Self-assured in his safety with Yoruichi in her cat form curled up over him. Both radiating smugness so thick it can almost be touched.

The change doesn’t go unnoticed but the rest of his friends take it in stride. There are so many changes happening to Ichigo lately, what is one more? Now at least, they feel closer to him. Soon enough they all grow comfortable with all the changes, from the bloodied furs to the affectionate purrs. And the more they grow comfortable, the more Ichigo relaxes in return.

The only person Ichigo seems to be tentative around is Urahara himself. Urahara who as playful as he himself behaves doesn’t allow Ichigo close enough to touch outside of what is required or spars. The scientist tolerates Ichigo’s new antics but makes no move to indulge them. It drives Ichigo crazy because the man treats them all like pack and doesn’t at the same time.

For all that is Ichigo who protects them, instinct tells him Urahara is stronger. There’s the smell of blood around him, bloodlust tightly reigned in. The blonde moves like a predator. He smells like a predator and behaves nothing like it. Ichigo’s primal side has no idea what to do with him. It makes him angsty and uncomfortable.

It doesn’t help that the man makes no move to submit or include himself but neither does he make a move to make Ichigo himself acknowledge him as leader of the pack. And yet, it’s the blonde who provides for them, the blonde who supplies the den, the blonde who they run to when they need help.

It drives Ichigo crazy.

It’s not helped by the man’s reaction when Ichigo brings furs to build a nest in the man’s den. For all the smiles and laughs, Ichigo can smell the irritation in him. And the furs disappear by the next day. Ichigo sulks for days. The way Orihime pets his hair in comfort the only reason why he settles somewhat quickly.

It calms down a little when a stray hollow attacks. Not Arrancar level, or anything strong enough or interesting enough to bother with. But it goes after the scientist like it has a vendetta running its mouth all the way. It insults from Urahara’s fashion sense to the man’s intellectual abilities. For all that Ichigo can smell the scientist amusement even as the hollow realizes how outmatched it is and runs, Ichigo takes offence.

While it’s true that Urahara has his instincts in a twist with the way he behaves like one thing and smells like another, with the strange way he’s pack but not, Ichigo still takes it personally. So the next time they go to Hueco Mundo, Ichigo tracks the hollow down and deposits it at the scientist's feet upon their return. He ignores the way the vizards baulk and scream at him in favour of preening at the actual pleasure smell coming from Urahara.

Perhaps, Ichigo’s hollow side thinks, Urahara likes to take the furs himself. The rest of Ichigo recognizes that the blonde probably enjoys the idea of Ichigo killing things for him more. Both could be true, Ichigo reasons. Maybe Urahara likes them whole for his lab, it can be that too.

Ichigo starts bringing Urahara hollows he thinks the older man would find pretty or interesting. Always in good enough condition to study. It forces Ichigo into learning cleaner ways of killing and it’s sometimes more trouble than he thinks it’s worth. But the appreciative calculating look Urahara sends his preys are enough to make Ichigo preen. It settles something in him.

Like he has accepted that this is how their relationship will work. Ichigo lounges around the shop and cuddles up to those he wants to cuddle with. And Urahara still refuses to be touched but he sends Ichigo appreciative smiles when he’s especially pleased with one of Ichigo’s hunts. Sometimes Ichigo gets a hand on his shoulder that lingers or a genuinely fond chuckle. It’s enough.  

Ichigo hunts and protects; Urahara plans and provides. It fits.

But the lines get blurred as soon as they settle in this new social order. There is an attack, and Orihime is caught in the middle of it. As strong as she can be, Ichigo knows she’s still too gentle, too sweet to be forced into a situation like this and so Ichigo rages. And yet, no matter how hard he tries, he fails.

He lays useless on the dirt, unable to protect his pack even as he tries to reassure Orihime. He can see the way she stills herself to try and protect him although he’d rather have her save somewhere else. Not that Ichigo would insult her by asking that of her. The anxiousness and fear written all over her smell and posture are enough to make Ichigo growl pained and frustrated.

From one moment to the next, Urahara is standing protectively in front of him. He’s using his own body to shield Ichigo from view and attack as he stands proud and self-assured with Yoruichi by his side. It shifts something in Ichigo’s perception. It makes his growl change to a soft whine.

He has been indulging his instincts long enough that he doesn’t think twice to give in to the urge of moving forward. Ichigo lets his forehead rest against the shopkeeper’s leg, not bothering to silence his whine, before backing up. Both because this is not the time and out of the knowledge that Urahara doesn’t like to be touched. It still gives him a slight bit of reassurance Ichigo craves.

Not that Ichigo misses the slight tensing in Urahara’s muscles while Ichigo touches him and it makes a part of him grumble in discontent and hurt. Ichigo doesn’t voice it, though. It’s not the time and even if it were, he doesn’t know how to explain it. It just is. Still, Ichigo doesn’t avoid the curious look the man sends him. The fact that Yoruichi seems to be more amused than anything else is enough to calm the anxiety the look spikes.

But the shopkeeper doesn’t mention it after the fight so Ichigo shrugs to himself and allows it to slide. If the scientist would rather let it go than ask, who is Ichigo to stop him? It’s not like he could explain it at all. He’s just doing what feels right.

Things get back to their comfortable routine for a little while longer. Another set of Aizen’s Arrancar come after them. This time a couple nowhere near powerful enough to be over his head but still strong enough to present a problem. Ichigo kills one, the other escapes. It’s not a clean kill and Ichigo is bleeding far more than he’s comfortable with. So he leaves his kill by the shop’s door and makes his way to Orihime’s place.

It changes the routine.

Ichigo is not sure what exactly is wrong but Urahara no longer seems to enjoy Ichigo hunting for him. There are no more smiles or pleased smells and it makes something inside of Ichigo rebel but he doesn’t know how to change it back. And Urahara doesn’t seem to care how hard Ichigo tries to bring him better prey.

It’s exhausting.

The next shift happens in a spar.

Ichigo is not sure what he did, if he knew, he’ll fix it. But for some reason the shopkeeper is displeased with him, that much Ichigo does know. There’s no tell, not really and it makes a part of Ichigo feel both annoyed and uncertain. It’s only the man's smell that gives him away.  He accepts the proposed spar a little uneasily but readily enough. His instincts want it too, anyway. It seems like a good way to settle whatever changed between them.

The ensuing fight reminds him just how much he’s out of his league.

It can’t have taken longer than two minutes, two minutes Ichigo spent mostly trying his hardest not to die and avoiding the worst of it. He’s not sure how it happens but suddenly he’s on his back, Urahara on top of him with his hand on Ichigo’s throat. The man’s expression is blank but the aura surrounding him screams danger and Ichigo goes limp with a whine. This is the predator that Ichigo has known was hiding under the other man’s skin.

The blond just blinks and then an amused smile makes its way to his face. “So that’s how it is.”

Ichigo hears him almost distantly, too concentrated on the hand on his throat to pay attention.

There’s sudden movement over him and then more weight on top of him. Ichigo bares his throat without dislodging the hand around it while he makes sure not to tense up. Urahara chuckles and it makes something warm fill Ichigo’s belly. It makes it harder not to squirm.

“Pay attention, Kurosaki-kun” There’s a command in the shopkeeper’s voice and Ichigo obeys without questioning it.

Not that doing so would be a good idea.

“Next time you need help, you come to me.” That’s another command.

Ichigo blinks as he processes that and then does his best to nod without moving too much. There’s amusement in the blonde’s gaze now but Ichigo can’t muster the will to be irritated about it.

“A verbal answer, Kurosaki-kun.” Urahara chides him softly but there’s enough amusement and warmth in his tone that Ichigo feels safe indulging in a little sulking.

“I will,” Ichigo confirms when the hand on his throat flexes in warning and the shopkeeper nuzzles the side of his jaw in slight reward. Ichigo hums his pleasure.

“You will what?” The blonde asks of him.

Ichigo wants to protest the treatment but the hand on his throat is a reminder so he whines a little in complaint but elaborates anyway. “I’ll come to you if I need help.”

The hand on his throat loosens and this time when the shopkeeper nuzzles him, Ichigo nuzzles back.

 

The body over his backs off and Ichigo takes a second to get used to the change before slowly standing up, a little disoriented still. Urahara’s look is amused as he watches him, a little calculating too and Ichigo can tell that the man is waiting for Ichigo to snap at him for it. Like Ichigo had done a thousand times before. But Ichigo can’t muster the will for it so he lowers his gaze and grumbles a little to show his displeasure.


	2. Conflict

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Purr for me,” Kisuke commands, one hand on Ichigo’s throat and the other dragging his nails over the vulnerable soft skin of Ichigo’s belly. Equal parts loving, warning and possessiveness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Urahara hums before turning around and leaving, Ichigo obediently trailing after him without a second thought. Soon enough they’re back to the man’s living room, the blond sitting down with his legs crossed as he drinks his tea. Where the tea came from, no one knows. Ichigo is standing awkwardly to the side, unsure of himself. He knows what he wants, he’s just not sure if it’s allowed and the scientist’s reprimand is still too fresh in his mind.

A part of him is settled now. Whatever was broken between them fixed by the scene on the training ground. His instinctive side is far calmer now, too.

Urahara controls the pack, Ichigo accepts that. Ichigo still protects them but now he knows that if he can’t, Urahara will step up. Like he did against the Arrancar when Ichigo wasn’t able to keep Orihime safe. When things go wrong, there’s Urahara. Which is why the man had been angry that Ichigo had gone to Orihime instead.

It’s good for him, to have the situation settled. It calms a part of him he hadn’t noticed was still anxious. And yet, the reprimand had left him feeling a little clingy. Urahara doesn’t like to be touched, Ichigo knows. So he doesn’t do it. But he doesn’t leave either. Because he’s feeling vulnerable, and maybe more than a little clingy. And he wants a bit of reassurance that everything is alright now, that he’s been forgiven.

There’s a change in the blonde posture and suddenly, he looks more welcoming. So Ichigo moves closer, slowly and carefully. When Urahara doesn’t change his body-language, makes no move to show he’s against it, Ichigo moves closer still. With a little side-look at the older man, he crawls onto the scientist’s lap and cuddles up to him.

Urahara still makes no move to show he’s displeased so Ichigo allows his body to relax. The blonde continues to drink his tea and Ichigo resists the urge to fidget less it annoys the older man. He doesn’t want to be made to go but this is not what he wants, not at all. So very, very carefully, Ichigo moves to press his nose on the underside of the man’s jaw before hiding his face on the blonde’s neck.

Ichigo whines, softly and apologetically. A wordless promise to do better.

He gets to feel the vibrations on the other man’s chest as the blonde chuckles. There are hands petting his hair now, warm from holding the hot cup and smelling faintly of matcha tea. It makes Ichigo melt, the last of the tension leaving him as he feels his own chest vibrate in response with a purr.  Content now that his instincts have settled and his worries are dismissed.

He falls asleep like that and wakes with the smell of tea still lingering in the air.

Urahara still doesn’t like to be touched. He doesn't allow himself to be pulled into puppy-piles. But he builds a small nest for them and his smell is in it even if the scientist doesn’t touch it. The others don’t try to cuddle the scientist either. But the older man goes back to smelling pleased when Ichigo hunts for him and now he’s freer with his touches.

There are hands in Ichigo’s hair after a particularly nice hunt and the scientist makes sure to always leave space beside him for Ichigo. When Ichigo takes it, curls up next to the older man, he’s never rebuffed. Ichigo starts smelling like matcha and chemicals and ink, too. From the hands that absent-mindedly pet his hair as the scientist drinks or writes down notes from his experiments.

It causes something like satisfaction to bloom in his chest, only darker. It’s pleasant and it makes Ichigo feel safe but it’s also possessive as well. Sometimes, after some petting, Ichigo wakes up with the man’s haori over him like a blanket. He never returns them, he takes each one with him to his room. Kisuke always has an identical one on the next time Ichigo sees him.

Kisuke gets used to Ichigo’s now touchy nature little by little. It starts with the scientist no longer tensing up on instinct at every touch. It takes a while but soon enough, when Ichigo cuddles up to him, the blonde only shifts to better accommodate him. It makes Ichigo purr every single time, he takes care of purring especially loudly as soon as he realizes that the scientist likes it, finds the sound relaxing.

It takes a little longer for the blonde to initiate contact. Ichigo purrs so loudly the first time that he startles his friends into silence but Kisuke just laughs so all in all, Ichigo doesn’t mind. It begins with soft touches on Ichigo’s arms to get his attention when the teenager is distracted and it evolves from there so subtly that Ichigo almost doesn’t notice.

The hand holding the back of his neck comes next, sometimes a little exasperated and sometimes fond but always so very grounding. Occasionally, the hand drops slowly down his back in a sort of possessive caress that makes Ichigo shiver and stands taller. There’s something like dark satisfaction in Kisuke too when Ichigo shivers for him when he bares his throat with little prompting or in the way Ichigo always looks at Kisuke first, takes his cues from him.

Ichigo likes it, likes the subtle possessive gestures of the older man, the way the scientist goes out of his way to demonstrate to the vizards that Ichigo might be “one of them” but he’s Kisuke’s first. The first time Kisuke nudges Ichigo into his lap is on the warehouse. The teenager can smell the tension in the air, the barley subdued aggression in the interactions between both blondes.

For whatever reason, Shinji seems displeased and there’s tightly rained in violence on Kisuke’s posture. It feels like they’re one wrong move away from coming to blows. The vizards are all tense around them and Ichigo tenses as well, as soon as he takes in the atmosphere. He doesn’t get to do much more than that, though, before Kisuke is beckoning Ichigo to him without a word.

The scientist pats his lap once from where he’s sitting by the table, tea-cup in front of him, and then raises his arm both to make his demand clear and to give Ichigo space to manoeuvre. Ichigo doesn’t question him, he only goes to the scientist, ignoring Shinji’s sharp sound of disapproval and the rise of the tension between the vizards.

As soon as Ichigo is on the older man’s lap, there’s a hand on his hair. The caress is sharp and possessive but also soothing, so Ichigo purrs, loud and pleased. Even so, Ichigo doesn’t forget that Kisuke’s angry, that there’s bloodlust brimming under the scientist’s skin. But Ichigo also knows that Kisuke doesn’t want him or need him ready to fight, this is a fight the blonde is picking and he doesn’t want Ichigo interfering.

What he wants from Ichigo is for him to display how submissive he can be for Kisuke, how trusting and soft when Ichigo is mostly sharp edges and command with everyone else. For that reason, Ichigo does. He lets his body go soft and pliant, bares his throat with no prompting and nuzzles the underside of Kisuke’s jaw with a sweet hum before he continues purring.

From then on, Kisuke calls Ichigo to his lap after a hard day. On those days when the predator is closer to the surface than normally allowed by the scientist’s carefully crafted facade when the bloodlust is so strong that it teases Ichigo’s senses. No matter how hard Kisuke tries to keep it reigned in. It makes something inside Ichigo preen.

Because it’s him that Kisuke calls when all of this happens when the veneer of civility cracks around the edges. Not Yoruichi, Tessai or the vizards but Ichigo. It’s Ichigo who gets to see the desire that Kisuke usually, and so easily, hides behind that fan of his; Ichigo who gets to see how swift, how lethal Kisuke’s movements are when he’s not pretending to be harmless.

It’s Ichigo who gets to see the dark amusement and honest pleasure on the scientist's face when Ichigo takes it all and preens under it. It’s Ichigo who can see the pleasure that radiates from the older man when Kisuke demands and Ichigo summits. It’s Ichigo who smells like Kisuke’s skin and bloodlust. No one else.

Kisuke likes it, Ichigo knows. He likes to call Ichigo to his lap and make him sprawl, throat bare to the scientist’s hands. Likes the way Ichigo makes sure to keep his body-language relaxed and submissive on those days, Kisuke takes it all in and demands more. Ichigo always gives it to him.

“Purr for me,” Kisuke commands, one hand on Ichigo’s throat and the other dragging his nails over the vulnerable soft skin of Ichigo’s belly. Equal parts loving, warning and possessiveness.

Ichigo does, catching Kisuke’s gaze on the mirror beside them for a second before he lowers his gaze. The scientist hums, pleased, behind him. Ichigo’s back is to the blonde’s chest, both hands at either side of him and resting on Kisuke’s knees. The young man is kneading the fabric before letting it go and then doing it all over again. Kisuke doesn’t seem to mind.

He feels it when the scientist pushes and pulls on his body and Ichigo allows himself to be moved, purrs even louder when he’s deposited on the small nest Kisuke built for the two of them. It smells strongly of them both and Ichigo stretches in it, content. It’s Ichigo’s favourite nest, both because of how it smells and what it means. There’s a chuckle from somewhere by the side of the nest and then a hand on his hair. Ichigo pushes up to it with a delighted hum.

“Look at you,” Kisuke’s voice is darkly amused and filled with satisfaction. “Do you think this is what your blue Arrancar wants?”

Ichigo doesn’t answer, he doesn’t know nor does he particularly care and Kisuke doesn’t really want a response anyway.

“I’m sure he does.” There are fingers splaying over his back, Kisuke’s hand travelling downward and then up again. “Look at you, so sweet and pliant.”

The hand on his back moves to Ichigo’s check and the teenager turns to leave a kiss on its palm. It prompts the scientist finally into the nest and Ichigo burrows closer to the man’s warmth among the blankets. They don’t cuddle much like this, there’s always too much on the scientist’s mind for him to stop, Kisuke’s time is mostly spent on his labs until he drops when he’s not training Ichigo. So Ichigo makes sure to always enjoy it to the fullest.

The way he presses himself as close to Kisuke as he can make the older man chuckle, the sound fonder than dangerous but with a hint of bloodlust under it still. Ichigo is aware that it should be unsettling but he has never cared for what should or shouldn’t be in the eyes of other people. To him, it makes him feel safe; safe and cared for. That’s all that matters, really.

And then, the war happens.

If it can even be called a war, short-lived as it was.

Ichigo sacrifices his very soul, tears it apart to defend his pack and now that he’s injured and defenceless, they leave him behind. It makes something inside Ichigo snap, he feels far more like the monster of rage and darkness these days than he ever felt before, even previously to the first trip to Hueco Mundo.

How dare they?

After all that talk about together, Ichigo is alone and he knows well enough that it was their choice. There’s no one to force their hands, after all. But he won’t be forever, that he knows as well. He still has all the instincts his hollow powers gave him and with that, Ichigo knows. His hollow will return and with it, his power. Ichigo will regain his ability to protect with the added benefit that now, he knows better.

He won’t be enticed with their empty words of teamwork this time around, not anymore. If he wants a pack again, he’ll get it the old-fashioned way, in the sands of Hueco Mundo. For all that the Shinigami look down on Hollows, it’s the Hollows alone, it seems, who know the value of the pack. Ichigo will make damn sure to remember it.

What hurts the most, Ichigo thinks, is not even the way Kisuke pushes him away but the way the blonde’s scent slowly but surely disappears from Ichigo and his lonely nest. Ichigo had thought that Kisuke would be there when the younger man needed help, he had felt sure of that knowledge as well. In Ichigo’s mind, Kisuke was alpha of the pack and so, it was his job to keep Ichigo save if Ichigo couldn’t do it himself.

He had been wrong.

At this point, Ichigo can’t even find it in himself to be surprised. Of course, he was.

No matter. Urahara will need to craft himself another weapon if he wants someone dealt with, Ichigo refuses to do it for him once more.

He contacts Ginjo out of both curiosity and absolute boredom. It’s almost more trouble than it’s worth and Ichigo half-decides to leave it multiple times but at the end of the day, Ichigo is so very bored and his instincts, his desire to hunt, have been ignored for long enough. So he perseveres. He forges on with the same single-minded tenacity with which Ichigo managed every “impossible” in front of him before.

The final nail in the coffin is when, after months of silence, Orihime comes to him. It takes all of Ichigo’s patience not to snap at her, not to let the veneer of civility crack. Of all things she could do, she asks about Chad. It feels like an insult, like salt rubbing on a not-yet-healed wound. But Ichigo manages to keep his expression pleasant enough as he sends her on her way. It means, of course, that what grip he had on his own barely contained anger and bloodlust is gone.

So Ichigo goes to Ginjo, watches him and lets him believe that it’s him who is luring Ichigo into his trap. Ichigo doesn’t mind, not really. He’ll be dead soon enough and Ichigo has no hurry, there’s no god-wannabe hanging over his head like a sword of Damocles. And he’s curious too. Xcution have some interesting powers, that much is true. It’s an interesting set of prey and the feral part of him stirs, perks to attention.

It’s an interesting experience. Ichigo goes with it long enough to earn these fullbring powers that Ginjo seems unable to shut up about. They’re an interesting concept but they also feel entirely wrong, annoying and uncomfortable under his skin. It’s almost a relief when the asshole takes them away.

“Your fullbring is mine.”

Ichigo ignores the gloating, it’s no matter, the time has come and the man will be dead soon, anyway. Ichigo can give him the little mercy of preening about a meaningless victory. Ichigo is far more interested in Ishida’s happy decision of interfering in Ichigo’s hunt. They’re no longer pack, the Quincy is not welcome.

“That’s nice,” Ichigo answers absentmindedly, his gaze unerringly fixed on his old packmate. It seems to unnerve him.

Good.

But Ichigo has lost interest in this hunt and he doesn’t need his powers to kill this particular prey, all he needs are his hands.

Before he can move, there’s a sword sticking out of his heart. Ichigo wasn’t fast enough to avoid it. He doesn’t need to turn to look who did it, he still recognizes Rukia’s smell. There’s not enough time to react to anything before his power just comes bursting out of him. It takes considerable self-control not to immediately turn around and stick his fist through her in retaliation.

He recognizes what she’s trying to do and he doesn’t particularly appreciate it. His powers would have come back on their own and he wonders who they need dead this time that they have decided to come back for their discarded weapon. Not that he feels particularly inclined to help. Better leave them to their delusions, however.

Ginjo doesn’t last long against Ichigo with his powers back and Ichigo feels a little cheated at that. To have such a long hunt end in this anticlimactic way, it leaves him frustrated. The positive thing is that Ichigo can now make gargantas again so finding acceptable things to hunt can't possibly take as long as Ginjo took. With that in mind, he creates a garganta and leaves without bothering to look back.

He doesn't know what the Shinigami had been expecting when they forced his powers back but he doesn't particularly care either.

Ichigo doesn’t know how long he stays in Hueco Mundo and he doesn’t bother trying to find out. It’s not something that particularly matters to him. Ichigo stays long enough to have his frustration and anger worked off by hunting and killing. He plays a couple of games of tag with Nel too, cuddles with her sometimes. It’s not pack, not really, she already has her own and respects that Ichigo is not yet ready to stay in Hueco Mundo.

Although Ichigo himself wonders sometimes why that is. Wouldn’t it be easier, after all, if Ichigo simply didn’t go back to the human world? But as calm, as welcome as he feels walking on the sand barely illuminated by the moon of the hollow world, Ichigo doesn’t want to stay yet. Oh, he knows, that he will sooner or later but not yet.

There’s resentment in the relationship he has with his sisters that never used to be there before but he still loves them, still cares enough to want to make sure that they’ll be cared for once he’s gone. And since he obviously can’t trust Goat Face or Urahara and his former pack with the job, then Ichigo will have to do it himself. He’ll stay until they can take care of themselves.

He returns because he can feel the wrongness on the edge of his senses, there’s something dangerous out in the sands of Hueco Mundo that doesn’t belong in them. A part of him wants to go and fight it and the rest of him insists that he goes back to his den. If there’s danger out here, what is to say it won’t travel to his sisters’ side?

It’s back in the human world that he finds out all about Ywach, his far removed family relation and a man who had a hand in his mother’s murder. Oh, Ichigo suspects why this information is being given to him now. Maybe the Shinigami realize Ichigo’s utter lack of care for their Commander's demise and Soul Society’s fate and so they moved to ensure Ichigo has a reason to fight beside them once more.

Not that it was needed. If this Ywach knows about his sisters, there’s no way he won’t use the information for something. That’s how Ichigo finds himself beside the Shinigami once more. Against his will and his better judgement but there’s little option there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I post the first chapter a Monday? Somehow I think not. No matter, it was meant to be Monday so Monday it will be updated.


	3. Resolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo has long stopped being a merciful creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Ichigo shows up at the meetings without invitation, not that any of the Shinigami have the guts to try and throw him out. He has learned his lesson about trusting them the last time around, he doesn’t particularly care for unnecessary surprises this time around. So he listens carefully but gives no input of his own.

He ignores their looks for the most part. He ignores mostly everything, from their sad attempts at involving him to their ventures in trying to fold him back into some sort of friendship. He won’t be made a fool twice in a row. A part of him wants to find the whole thing proof enough of their care for him, he can feel his desire for forgiveness and move on. Ichigo, at least a small part of him, wants his pack back.

But every time he lets himself think something along those lines, he’s quick to remind himself that they only came back once he was useful once more. What if he loses his usefulness again? Better to get comfortable in his loneliness from the get-go than suffer the pain of another betrayal.

There’s time yet, he knows. When Ichigo rebuilds a pack for himself, he will make sure that it’s a proper one. One he can trust, not these people hiding behind pretty words and false smiles.

The guilt and pain he can smell on them and see on their body language does nothing for his already dwindling patience. He’d rather have this whole issue dealt with as quickly and possible so he can return to the sands of Hueco Mundo. Maybe he’ll find a decent hunt over there, one without the pressure of his sisters’ possible dead hanging over his head. 

Staying by their side has been messing up his head. There are two parts of him fighting and Ichigo would like to remove himself from this situation. It’s the healthy thing to do, too. Ichigo was never made for diplomacy. 

The part of Ichigo ruled by instinct feels lonely and mournful but oh so very angry as well. It tastes like ashes and betrayal in the back of his throat every time he swallows. He aborts every move he makes to touch them, avoids it when they try touching him back and although he comes back to the shop when needed, he no longer allows himself to lower his gaze when Kisuke’s displeased.

He doesn’t let himself linger, doesn’t allow himself to touch. The part of him that’s more human takes in Kisuke’s apology and waves it off with a gruff “it’s ok.” And it is, technically. The logical side of his brain has heard the reasons and the excuses and has deemed them enough. From a logical standpoint, the scientist was in a bad situation and did the best he could with what little cards he had been holding. 

Ichigo knows and it’s ok with that. He understands it and respects it. He wouldn’t have done the same but that is irrelevant to what the scientist did, both of them are different, think in very dissimilar terms. Ichigo never was a being of pure logic. It’s the instinctual part of him that tells him to back off. This is no longer pack and you don’t allow other predators to touch your underbelly. 

That’s where death lies, after all.

Ichigo knows that Kisuke understands some of it. How could he not? When Urahara himself is bloodlust and barely concealed violence himself. Urahara is a predator and a genius as well. He was also the one who understood Ichigo the most and the one Ichigo let inside his defences. It makes something inside Ichigo rage and howl but he knows Urahara knows.

He can feel the shopkeeper’s gaze on him, near constantly. It’s hard not to lash out. It helps a little to know that Urahara has been trying in his own awkward way to fix all that’s broken between them. Ichigo wants him to stop but doesn’t have it in him to demand it. Not really. Not when he knows that Urahara will strip him down to the hurt and insecurities with one look.

Ichigo would rather avoid that. 

He’s honest enough with himself to recognize that he’s also a little afraid of it. Better to let it go on and leave as soon as the problem with the Quincies is dealt with. He doesn’t have to see Urahara afterwards.

Still… He hates having to escape the shopkeeper’s touches every time he has to come by the shop, hates the way the man never fails to subtly leave enough space beside him for Ichigo to cuddle up to. It’s like rubbing salt in an open wound, a relentless reminder of what Ichigo used to have and no longer does.

It’s made even worse by the fact that Ichigo misses it so deeply it hurts. The idea that Urahara has noticed, and he obviously has, the longing looks that Ichigo can’t help but send to what used to be Ichigo’s spot by Urahara’s side… 

It’s humiliating.

But it keeps on happening, whether Ichigo likes it or not. It might be due to Urahara’s persistence or it might be due to Ichigo’s inability to demand the man to stop. Whatever it is, it only means that tension continues building up, continues growing at a steady pace. Something has to give.

Sooner or later.

And it does. 

It all comes to a head one evening. It happens fast enough that Ichigo himself is not quite sure what prompts him to move so fast, it’s more instinct than anything else. The wild furious pump of blood in his ears is almost loud enough to drown his own growl, as it is, it takes Ichigo a while to realize he’s the one growling. It’s low in his throat, full with warning.

The former substitute Soul Reaper doesn’t know whether the touch was accidental or planned. It didn’t even register to him until he felt the heat of Urahara’s hand brushing his throat. Whatever it was, however, doesn’t matter. It is glaringly unwelcome. That’s all that matters at the moment.

Something inside of Ichigo snaps at the feel of it.

Because they might have been pack, once, but they’re no pack now. And Ichigo has been in enough battles to know, even without his instincts screaming to him, that you never allow predators anywhere near your throat. His instincts rage at the gall. 

Urahara is still stronger or, at the very least, more experienced. There’s something, some knowledge he has no idea where he gets it from, that tells him Urahara would win. That he’s someone to be wary from. But Ichigo is already faster and Urahara is not expecting an attack in his own shop.

It means that Ichigo disarms him quickly, fast enough that nobody has the time to react. Not the shopkeeper, not the rest of the members of his former so-called pack, not the Soul Reapers arrogantly stationed on the shop of a man they had no problem throwing aside but see fit to use when it becomes convenient.

That attitude should have made things obvious to him long before they left him behind.

It didn’t.

Ichigo ignores those dark thoughts as he keeps the shopkeeper pinned against the wall, chest and face getting uncomfortably pushed against the wood. He keeps the scientist’s arms behind the other man’s back, trapped by an uncompromising hold with one hand while the other forces the shopkeeper’s throat bare, fingernails digging into the skin and lips pulled in a snarl.  

The shocked silence that follows is deafening.

Nobody dares to move and Ichigo would be lying if he denied it fills him with satisfaction. It takes a couple of seconds but Urahara eventually goes limp on Ichigo’s hold. For some reason, however, it’s not enough. Submission given or not, Ichigo is not satisfied. All it really does is make his irritation at the entire situation rise.

So he growls some more, deep and aggressive, from the back of his throat. He knows, of course, that he has been spending far too long in Hueco Mundo and, in contrast, almost no time at all in the Human World. He realizes this, he doesn’t care. As far as he’s concerned, all it means is that Ichigo is a little more hollow than human most of the time, more feral than acceptable for polite company. If he felt like company at all.

“Kurosaki-kun, I don’t know what you want,” the shopkeeper tells him.

Ichigo snorts. 

Right.

Ichigo would snap at him but the slight trepidation in the man’s voice is satisfaction enough, the rapid beating of his heart a plus. It seems, even if the rest of them have been blindingly ignoring all the signs Ichigo has been throwing around, the shopkeeper hadn’t. It means the blond knows how little if at all, Ichigo cares for them now.

And he knows enough to be wary of it.

Good, Ichigo can’t help but think with satisfaction. At least, one of them has been quick on the uptake. In this, they stand alone. Ichigo will do just what he needs to get done and nothing more, however many of them die in the process… Well, it’s not Ichigo’s problem.

Ichigo pushes himself off of the other man and leaves, posture still predatory and aggressive. They part for him, moving aside to let him through and Ichigo almost smirks at it. He doesn’t, however. At best, they’d be very boring prey and Ichigo is not yet desperate enough, bored enough, to bother with the likes of them.

It changes things between them but Ichigo likes the way Urahara is no longer that liberal with his touch. The way the man starts averting his gaze when Ichigo can’t quite hide his irritation. Of course, Ichigo knows that Urahara is most likely copying Ichigo’s own reactions to him after the spar but Ichigo’s instincts don’t care and a part of Ichigo hopes this will be the end of it. 

It isn’t.

Of course, it isn’t. Ichigo should have really known better. He had known Urahara long enough to know his patterns, the way he moves, the way he thinks, and more importantly, the way he hunts. And this is a hunt, not a traditional one, no. Not one where the prey ends up dead and bloody, but a hunt nonetheless. 

No. All Urahara does is keep his distance while he regroups. Ichigo can see him in his mind even now, holed up in his lab scribbling ideas, plotting the best course of action to get what he wants. Men like Urahara are dangerous not for their raw power or their resources but for their mind.

And the scientist knows it all too well. 

Every scrap of power he has now, the blonde fought and plotted and gambled for. It means the man knows exactly what it means to have this power and what it can get him. Always ten steps ahead of everyone else.

Ichigo is like a wolf, strong and fierce and protective, perfectly capable of ripping his prey’s throat and unrelenting in his hunt even if sometimes a little too playful to the disgrace of said prey. Kisuke, on the other hand, is like a cat. Cute and adorable and perfectly content to play with his prey until it begs for death if only to end the torment. Not that the blonde will grant anything other than what he feels like granting, begging or not.

The whole process takes Urahara about a week. A week of figuring things out and plotting, maybe even talking to whatever allied Arrancar he could pester or simply reminding himself of Ichigo’s little idiosyncrasies from when the younger man had tried so hard to please him. 

Whatever the reason, Urahara stops touching him but still leaves a place beside him at all times for Ichigo to take. And he starts leaving gifts to Ichigo on his windowsill. The scientist is careful to never come any further than that and that, at least, Ichigo can appreciate. Oh, he knows it’s the scientist who has been leaving the gifts behind, Ichigo can smell his scent on them after all.

It begins with furs and other fabrics, beautiful to look at and obviously expensive in origin. Ichigo dismisses them easily enough. The rational part of him rolls his eyes at the sad attempt of bribery, the feral side of him furious at the gall of the man. How dare he, the hollow side thinks, to leave these lacklustre gifts behind. 

There’s no smell of blood in them, neither from whoever the fur was or from the scientist himself. Which means the shopkeeper couldn’t have hunted this down for him. He must have gotten it from some store. The dark instinctual part of his being feels deeply offended by it, Ichigo is worth more than that.

Though the more human side of him does wonder from where the man got his information to know which furs Ichigo might have picked for himself.  He’s even been tempted by some, no blood smell and all.

Time goes slowly by and life moves on. Ywach is dealt with and Ichigo goes back to fighting his own boredom. The furs start becoming bigger, lavisher. Ichigo keeps dismissing them. The anger that used to burn hot on his chest slowly diminishes to sporadic flashes, it lingers but it isn’t all-compassing anymore. 

Ichigo still doesn’t want him, doesn’t want any of them. He doesn’t trust them and makes sure to remind himself to never trust them again but they are such a small part of his life nowadays that they also don’t really matter.

Out of sight, out of mind. 

The gifts keep coming. 

The furs pile up on his windowsill until there’s no more space for more and then the older ones disappear. Ichigo ignores it, content to let the matter be as long as it doesn’t disrupt his life. If Urahara wants him that much, Ichigo thinks, then the man should have the decency to work for him instead of just shopping.

Ichigo will not settle for some store-bought furs, no matter how expensive. They won’t be enough for Ichigo to accept him.

Except that in one of those days; when the itch, the urge, is strong enough to force Ichigo into pacing, restless enough to accept the barely used invitation to the scientist’s training ground; he finds the blonde sitting calmly on said training ground, patiently skinning a hollow with fur as dark as night.

Later that night, Ichigo finds it on his windowsill. It doesn’t smell like blood.

This is the first fur he accepts.

Albeit, he does take it almost begrudgingly. But seeing the blonde covered in blood and calmly preparing the fur for Ichigo as a gift, it had awakened something dark and ferocious inside his chest. So he takes the fur and drapes it over the cover of his bed. He lounges on top of it when the sun hits his bedroom just right, grumbling all the way.   

The furs keep coming, none of them has even a small hint of blood smell. Ichigo still picks the ones he likes. Slowly but surely, they start building a small but thick and warm layer overtop his bed. He likes it, it fills him with satisfaction even as he’s wary of it. Because he’s been down this path before and Ichigo doesn’t know if he can trust it.

And yet… It’s this predator, powerful and bloody, strong enough to stand beside Ichigo if not in raw power, at least in might. It makes Ichigo feel more than a little smug to know that this man, as bloodthirsty as he himself, wants Ichigo badly enough to continue courting him. No matter how long it took for Ichigo to show him even the slight bit of interest required to at least keep some of the furs. 

Soon enough, small trinkets start joining the furs on his windowsill. Bracelets and necklaces made of bone and teeth. Ichigo takes every single one of them and wears none. He hangs them from his headboard, keeps them on display with something like satisfaction. He takes them sometimes so he can feel the nooks and crevices with his fingers.

It doesn’t take much longer before he has a small collection. 

It’s not until he finds a perfect practice replica of Zangetsu on his windowsill, carefully carved in solid bone, that he breaks. Ichigo reaches for it almost as soon as he sees it. He takes it in his hands and caresses it with his fingers as he admires the quality of it. Every little detail of his own zanpakuto has been perfectly reproduced in it.

It makes the ice in his heart finally melt and he grumbles to himself a bit in protest even as he reaches for his gifted trinkets. 

It’s fine, he comforts himself, at least he has made sure to make the scientist work for it. 

He starts wearing some of them, he makes sure to keep them still proudly on display, be it around his neck, or his wrist, or braided into his hair. 

The next time he goes to the shop, with the itch that’s almost never quite satisfied and the predator a little too close to the surface, he looks at Kisuke as the man runs his eyes along the gifts Ichigo has accepted. He lets the man watch the way the bone looks against his skin but doesn’t give an inch otherwise.

Ichigo preens at how distracting his presence becomes to the scientist, at how often the shopkeeper’s eyes stray to his wrists or neck, lingering on the gifts Ichigo chose to display. He feels smug at the way the blonde tries to reach for him but Ichigo has long forgotten about mercy so he dances away from every touch and gives back nothing but a smile with a hint of mischief.

Oh, Ichigo knows what he’s just done. He knows and basks on the feeling. This hunt, in particular, Ichigo doesn’t even need to chase, it has been chasing him instead. All that’s left to do is allow the would be hunter to catch up.

That, and teach the man a lesson, make sure Kisuke knows where Ichigo stands because Ichigo is no merciful being. Not anymore, at least. Kisuke will get a second chance, he won’t survive long enough to ask for a third one. 

That night, Ichigo waits as he lounges on his nest, snuggled between the furs he has accepted, his hands running along the details of some of the carved bones Kisuke has given him. 

Kisuke shows up soon enough, features illuminated only by the light of the street outside. He waits there full of uncertainty as Ichigo regards him but comes readily enough when the young vizard beckons him closer. Ichigo pulls the blonde to him, manoeuvring him until they’re close enough to touch.

It feels right. He feels the purr that wants to escape from his chest. When the shopkeeper moves closer for a kiss, Ichigo hums at him encouragingly and kisses him back.

And then he shoves him right through the garganta. 

Kisuke stumbles a little as he lands but he does so on his feet. Ichigo can’t help the pleased hum that escapes him, not that he was trying very hard. The first swing of Zangetsu’s sealed form catches Kisuke right across the chest, the second is stopped by Benehime. 

The hat is already lost.

The surprise in Kisuke’s eyes fades quickly enough as he notes Ichigo’s posture, the smirk of his face and the lust on his gaze. Kisuke smiles back, pleasant and outwardly calm but the air is full of their bloodlust. It makes Ichigo’s instincts sing. He’s barely fast enough to avoid the kido blast Kisuke aimed at him.

It’s a fast-paced battle. Ichigo is faster, he’s stronger, practically impossible to keep down; but Kisuke is smarter, more experienced and knows Ichigo well enough to know where he’ll end up before Ichigo himself does.

They battle for days. 

In the end, it’s Ichigo who wins and mostly because he outlasted Kisuke. If the scientist had more time to plan, Ichigo knows, this battle would have gone on a very different way. Not that it matters for what Ichigo wants at the moment. The man probably knew the outcome long before Ichigo did so it doesn’t surprise Ichigo at all when the older man doesn’t even try to rise from where he’s kneeling in the sand.

Kisuke’s covered in blood and breathing hard, calculating eyes following Ichigo’s every move. And Ichigo almost wants to purr but not yet, he won’t ruin this hunt for being impatient. Ichigo needs to make sure the scientist knows where he stands, what he’s getting himself into.

Ichigo takes his time as he walks up to him, lets himself admire the pretty contrast of his pale skin and the blood marking it, lets himself appreciate the obvious desire in Kisuke’s gaze as the man waits. He takes it all in and rebels in it because it is his, he will claim it soon enough. 

He just has to make sure. 

He stabs Zangetsu into the sand, both blades close enough to Kisuke that a wrong move will give the blond another cut, but the scientist doesn’t even flinch. All he does is tilt his head up, lips parted as he pants. Ichigo wants to steal the breath out of him. So he does, he kneels down in front of the blonde, bears the man’s throat with his hand and steals a kiss. 

And then another, and another one after that.

It’s Kisuke’s little hiss at having his lip bitten that reminds him that he’s not done. He forces the scientist on his back, careful of both avoiding the sharp side of Zangetsu and of keeping it close enough to reach. Without letting go of the older man’s throat, he sits himself on top of him, legs flanking the scientist’s side.

He leans in, teeth bared and voice transformed into a growl, “you won’t do it again”.

There’s no need to clarify, they both know what he’s referring to. For a second, there’s guilt flashing across the blonde’s face and Ichigo growls because he cares nothing for the other man’s guilt. But then it’s replaced by determination and Kisuke is rising both arms, crossing his hands above his head. 

“I won’t.”

They watch each other in silence for a little while and then Ichigo is leaning further in, stealing another kiss. And then he trails small kisses all the way to the man’s throat, moves his hand to grab at the scientist’s hair, and bites down hard enough to hurt. 

Kisuke hisses under him, grows a little, squirms, but he leaves his hands where they are and Ichigo hums, feeling the giddy satisfaction creeping up his spine. He sits back up, rips what remains of the other man’s clothing and sends a sharp look to the blond under him as soon as he sees those hands twitch. 

“You won’t get to touch me today.” It’s more of an impulsive decision than anything else, a sudden desire to watch Kisuke break apart under his hands. But as soon as Ichigo says it, it feels just right. It makes the scientist moan, soft and almost muffled, and in turn, it makes Ichigo twitch with an answering growl. 

He leans back down, paints kisses all over the older man’s chest. He bites purple marks all over the blonde’s skin. 

Ichigo rides him until both of them can’t anymore, long after Kisuke’s resolve breaks and he tries to steal a touch or two. Ichigo doesn’t let him, of course, he forces the scientist down and rides him all the harder. And now they’re both slick and sweaty under the moonlight. Ichigo collapsed on the blonde’s chest, purring softly as he tries to catch his breath. 

“Mine,” Ichigo murmurs, low and commanding against Kisuke’s lips and feels the pleasure shot through him when Kisuke agrees with a groan.

“Yours.”

Good. Let Kisuke never forget that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me this long, I wanted to add in the last part. Everything that happens after the garganta... And well, it kicked my ass but it's finally done so hope you liked it.  
> For those of you who are interested, I'm writing a story with all of this from Kisuke's POV. Still nowhere near done but I'll add it as a part of the series "A little hollow" as soon as I get it done.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the delay in everything. I just moved to another continent two weeks ago and then proceeded to start classes pretty much as soon as I arrived. The whole thing has had me in a complete disarray

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [First Protector](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22937341) by [RayShippouUchiha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayShippouUchiha/pseuds/RayShippouUchiha)




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